David Puttnam Filmography

My Life So Far

Crew: Producer

Actors: Colin Firth, Rosemary Harris, Irène Jacob, Tchéky Karyo, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

Synopsis: Director Hugh Hudson, who made his directorial debut with the award-winning Chariots Of Fire, returns to the theme of British life in the 1920s in the bittersweet family drama My Life So Far. Gamma Macintosh (Rosemary Harris) is the matriarch of a family that inhabits Harewood House, a castle in Read More

War of the Buttons

Crew: Producer

Actors: Liam Cunningham, Gregg Fitzgerald, Colm Meaney, John S. Coffey, Eveanna Ryan

Synopsis: Rival groups of boys from two neighboring Irish villages engage in a running battle in this remake of the 1962 French movie of the same name, based on a novel by Louis Pergaud. The boys from Ballydowse, who dress as they please, exchange insults with boys from nearby Carricksdowse -- who wear Read More

Le Confessionnal

Crew: Producer

Actors: Lothaire Bluteau, Patrick Goyette, Jean-Louis Millette, Kristin Scott Thomas

Synopsis: Two different narratives, separated by 37 years, interconnect in this feature debut from acclaimed Canadian theater director Robert Lepage. In 1952, Alfred Hitchcock (here played by Ron Burrage) is in Quebec, filming I Confess. While the great director's presence adds a bit of Hollywood excitement Read More

The Burning Season

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: Raul Julia

Synopsis: This highly acclaimed made-for-cable movie tells the real-life story of one man's battle to save his land. Raul Julia stars as Chico Mendes, the Brazilian union leader who rallied his people to rise up and fight the exploitation of the rainforest. Mendes called on the locals to protest land Read More

Being Human

Crew: Producer

Actors: Robin Williams, John Turturro, Anna Galiena, Vincent D'Onofrio, Hector Elizondo

Synopsis: Five fables, each set in a different historical era, make up this quirky comedy from director Bill Forsyth. Each tale features Robin Williams as a basically decent but troubled average man named Hector. Beginning with the Bronze Age, where Hector struggles for survival against barbarians, the film Read More

Gillo Pontecorvo: The Dictatorship of Truth

Actors: Edward Said, Gillo Pontecorvo

Meeting Venus

Crew: Producer

Actors: Glenn Close, Niels Arestrup, Erland Josephson, Macha Meril

Synopsis: Meeting Venus is based on a play cowritten by the film's director, Istvan Szabo. Glenn Close plays a celebrated Swedish opera star Karin Anderson who is slated to appear in an internationally-telecast production of Tannhauser. Ms. Anderson balks at the notion of working with obscure Hungarian Read More

A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia

Crew: Producer

Actors: Ralph Fiennes

Synopsis: This informative look at T.E. Lawrence at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, as he serves as the liaison to the Hashemite delegation in an effort to have the Allies agree to Arab independence. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

Memphis Belle

Crew: Co-producer

Actors: Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Tate Donovan, D.B. Sweeney, Billy Zane, David Strathairn

Synopsis: Unabashedly sentimental, this war film was produced by David Putnam in partnership with Catherine Wyler, whose father William Wyler directed an acclaimed documentary about the real-life events depicted in the film. The ensemble cast is composed of ten young actors portraying the crew of the World Read More

Knights and Emeralds

Crew: Producer

Actors: Christopher Wild, Warren Mitchell, Bill Leadbitter, Rachel Davies

Synopsis: In a gritty teen drama-comedy about racial tensions and high school competition, Christopher Wild stars as Kevin, the son of a white racist who goes against his father's prejudices by making friends with many black kids at school. The blacks have a band and majorette corps called the Crusaders Read More

Defense of the Realm

Crew: Producer

Actors: Gabriel Byrne, Greta Scacchi, Denholm Elliott, Ian Bannen, Fulton Mackay

Synopsis: This fast-paced thriller examines the amorality of a nation's secret services and the responsibility of journalistic investigations in an era of nuclear tensions and bureaucratic deceit. The film examines an unspooling series of events occurring after a near crash of a nuclear bomber at an Read More

The Mission

Crew: Producer

Actors: Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Ray McAnally, Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn

Synopsis: Featuring a majestic score by Ennio Morricone and lush Oscar-winning cinematography by Chris Menges, Roland Joffé's The Mission examines the events surrounding the Treaty of Madrid in 1750, when Spain ceded part of South America to Portugal, and turns this episode into an allegory for the mid-'80s Read More

Mr. Love

Crew: Producer

Actors: Barry Jackson, Maurice Denham, Margaret Tyzack, Linda Marlowe, Christina Collier

Synopsis: Another Man Who Loved Women with a slightly different plot, this routine story opens with the funeral of a local projectionist and gardener, Donald Lovelace (Barry Jackson). His widow and daughter are surprised at the number of women who turn out to mourn Donald's passing. Soon the truth about his Read More

French Lesson

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: Jane Snowden, Alexandre Sterling, Jacqueline Doyen, Raoul Delfosse, Jeanne Herviale, Oystein Wiik

Synopsis: The French Lesson was released in some markets as The Frog Prince. Studying at the Sorbonne, young British lass Jenny (Jane Snowden) lives with a rural, respectable French family. Her head full of curious romantic notions, Jenny would like to surrender her virginity, but only when the "right" boy Read More

Winter Flight

Crew: Executive Producer, Producer

Actors: Reece Dinsdale, Nicola Cowper, Gary Olsen, Sean Bean, Beverly Hewitt

Synopsis: In this British drama, Mal Stanton (Reece Dinsdale), a young British Royal Air Force recruit, meets and falls in love with the lovely Angie (Nicola Cowper). However, when Mal discovers that Angie is pregnant with the child of her former lover, he is forced to struggle with the complicated feelings Read More

Arthur's Hallowed Ground

Crew: Producer

Actors: Jimmy Jewel, Jean Boht, David Swift, Michael Elphick, Derek Benfield

Synopsis: Moving as methodically as the old curmudgeon Arthur tending his cricket grounds, this drama about age and values is a steady, well-focused story that still might move too slowly or narrowly for some viewers. Arthur (Jimmy Jewel) has been taking care of the greensward for the cricket team since Read More

Those Glory, Glory Days

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: Zoe Nathenson, Julia Goodman, Julia McKenzie, Peter Tilbury, Sara Sugarman

Synopsis: This weak, self-conscious, made-for-TV comedy (one of producer David Puttnam's "First Love" series) is about four girlfriends who play soccer during their teen years and cheer on their favorite soccer players as well. The story begins with one of the four, the sports reporter Julia (Julia Read More

Sharma and Beyond

Crew: Producer

Actors: Suzanne Burden, Robert Urquhart, Michael Maloney, Antonia Pemberton, Benjamin Whitrow

Synopsis: This enjoyable romantic comedy-drama is about Stephan (Michael Maloney), an aspiring sci-fi writer who teaches English to a class of often amusing foreigners. On a field trip with his class one day Stephan goes by the house of his hero, Evan Gorley-Peters (Robert Urquhart), a celebrated sci-fi Read More

The Killing Fields

Crew: Producer

Actors: Sam Waterston, Dr. Haing S. Ngor, John Malkovich, Julian Sands, Craig T. Nelson, Athol Fugard, Spalding Gray, Bill Paterson

Synopsis: The Killing Fields is a romanticized adaptation of an eyewitness magazine story by New York Times correspondent Sidney Schanberg. Covering the U.S. pullout from Vietnam in 1975, Schanberg (Sam Waterston) relies on his Cambodian friend and translator Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor) for inside Read More

Cal

Crew: Producer

Actors: Helen Mirren, John Lynch, Donal McCann, John Kavanagh, Ray McAnally

Synopsis: In the opening scenes of this politically-oriented drama, a killer enters the home of a policeman and in a shocking sequence murders him in cold blood -- an act that becomes the key to the rest of this film about the conflict between politics and life. Young Catholic, Cal (John Lynch) works in a Read More

Secrets

Crew: Executive Producer, Producer

Actors: Helen Lindsay, John Horsley, Anna Campbell-Jones, Daisy Cockburn, Rebecca Johnson

Synopsis: Secrets was produced in 1982 for the British TV anthology series First Love. Anna Campbell-Jones plays a lonely 13-year-old girl who is about to be packed off to boarding school. Just before she leaves, she stumbles upon a packet of secret documents, revealing that her late father was a Read More

Forever Young

Crew: Executive Producer, Producer

Actors: Nicholas Gecks, Alec McCowen, Karen Archer

Synopsis: Two men who had been partners 20 years earlier reunite and rekindle old animosities in this routine, low-budget drama by director David Drury, made for the "First Love" British TV series but also released theatrically. James (James Aubrey), a teacher, and Father Michael (Nicholas Gecks) meet again Read More

Red Monarch

Crew: Executive Producer, Producer

Actors: Colin Blakely, David Suchet, Carroll Baker, Ian Hogg, Nigel Stock

Synopsis: Presented in a series of ostensibly farcical or irreverent episodes without any particular connection to each other, and based on short stories written by Yuri Krotkov's own personal knowledge of Stalin, the Red Monarch sketches the infamous Russian dictator as something of a buffoon suffering Read More

Local Hero

Crew: Producer

Actors: Peter Riegert, Burt Lancaster, Fulton Mackay, Denis Lawson, Norman Chancer, Peter Capaldi

Synopsis: Bill Forsyth's whimsical tale of sweet-natured corporate rapacity features standout performances by Burt Lancaster and Peter Riegert. Lancaster plays Texas billionaire Felix Happer, who would rather gaze at the stars than worry about his multi-national oil company. Happer dispatches Mac MacIntyre (Peter Riegert Read More

Experience Preferred... But Not Essential

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: Elizabeth Edmonds, Roy Heather, Geraldine Griffiths, Karen Meagher, Robert Blythe

Synopsis: Set in 1962 Wales, Experience Preferred...But Not Essential is the story of a hotel waitress named Annie (Elizabeth Edmonds). In the words of the famous song, Annie's been looking for love in all the wrong places. This time around, she hopes to find lasting happiness in the arms of the hotel cook. Read More

Kipperbang

Crew: Executive Producer, Producer

Actors: John Albasiny, Alison Steadman, Garry Cooper, Abigail Crittenden, Maurice Dee

Synopsis: The romantic hurdles experienced by the teen set at a British school are juxtaposed with the same type of difficulties experienced by their elders in this pat, adolescent view of life and love by director Michael Apted for a British TV series called First Love. The English teacher (Alison Read More

Chariots of Fire

Crew: Producer

Actors: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nigel Havers, Nicholas Farrell, Ian Holm, Daniel Gerroll, John Gielgud

Synopsis: Based on a true story, Chariots of Fire is the internationally acclaimed Oscar-winning drama of two very different men who compete as runners in the 1924 Paris Olympics. Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson), a serious Christian Scotsman, believes that he has to succeed as a testament to his undying Read More

Foxes

Crew: Producer

Actors: Jodie Foster, Scott Baio, Sally Kellerman, Randy Quaid, Lois Smith, Marilyn Kagan

Synopsis: Foxes details the exploits of four teenage San Fernando Valley girls as they drink, dope and sleep their way into oblivion. Jeanie (Jodie Foster, in a standout performance), the most grounded of the quartet, deals with her burned-out working-student-mother (Sally Kellerman, also excellent) while Read More

Midnight Express

Crew: Producer

Actors: Brad Davis, Randy Quaid, John Hurt, Irene Miracle, Bo Hopkins, Paul L. Smith

Synopsis: Midnight Express is a harrowing tale of a naïve American caught in a nightmare of his own making thousands of miles from his home. Billy Hayes (Brad Davis) is an American tourist visiting Turkey with his girlfriend Susan (Irene Miracle) when he's caught by customs officials trying to smuggle a Read More

The Duellists

Crew: Producer

Actors: Keith Carradine, Harvey Keitel, Cristina Raines, Edward Fox, Robert Stephens

Synopsis: The Duellists is based on a story by Joseph Conrad, variously titled The Duel and The Point of Honour. Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel play officers in Napoleon's army -- D'Hubert and Feraud, respectively -- who spend their off-hours challenging each other to bloody duels. This goes on for Read More

Bugsy Malone

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: Scott Baio, Jodie Foster, Florrie Dugger, John Cassisi, Martin Lev

Synopsis: Here's the basic "shtick" of Bugsy Malone: it's a gangster picture enacted by children. Acted out before scaled-down sets, the film details the career of Bugsy Malone (Scott Baio), who rises to the top of the criminal ladder in 1920s New York. Whenever gunfire is called for, the kiddie crooks Read More

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

Crew: Producer

Synopsis: This documentary compiles newsclips from the 1930s to chronicle the entire decade of The Great Depression. The mood of the country is exemplified in a series of clips contrasting Franklin D. Roosevelt and James Cagney. Films of relevance to the documentary's task are also given attention Read More

Lisztomania

Crew: Producer

Actors: Roger Daltrey, Sara Kestelman, Paul Nicholas, Fiona Lewis, Veronica Quilligan

Synopsis: This audacious, vulgar, freewheeling fantasia on the life of pianist Franz Liszt ranks among director Ken Russell's most outrageous efforts. Roger Daltrey, lead singer for The Who, is awkward yet likeable as the flamboyant piano performer with a bevy of fetching mistresses and groupies, while Paul Nicholas Read More

Stardust

Crew: Composer (Music Score), Musical Arrangement, Musical Direction/Supervision, Producer

Actors: Rose Marie Klespitz, Rick Lee Parmentier, David Essex, Adam Faith, Larry Hagman, Rosalind Ayres

Synopsis: Stardust was the sequel to That'll be the Day, a 1973 film à clef about the rise of a Beatles-like rock group. Real-life rock star David Essex plays singer Jim Maclaine (read: John Lennon), whose sudden rise to fame has enriched him beyond his wildest dreams. His perspective and sense of values Read More

Mahler

Crew: Producer

Actors: Elaine Delmar, Claire McLellan, Sarah McLellan, Gary Rich, Michael Southgate, Arnold Yarrow, Robert Powell, Georgina Hale, Richard Morant, Lee Montague, Rosalie Crutchley

Synopsis: Director Ken Russell made a number of biographical films of composers' lives including The Music Lovers, (about Tchaikovsky) and Lisztomania. Russell embellished the other films with certain characteristic flourishes, which include a focus on the composers' sexual obsessions, poetically telling Read More

That'll Be the Day

Crew: Producer

Actors: David Essex, Ringo Starr, Rosemary Leach, James Booth, Billy Fury

Synopsis: Long before Grease was even thought of, the British came out with That'll Be The Day, the story of a young man (David Essex) growing up in the dreary working-class world of Britain who comes of age and finds his proper outlet in the first outgrowths of the rock-and-roll world in Britain. This film Read More

The Final Programme

Crew: Executive Producer

Actors: Hugh Griffith, Jon Finch, Jenny Runacre, Patrick Magee, Sterling Hayden

Synopsis: Jon Finch stars as Jerry Cornelius, swinging London's leading scientific genius, in this screen adaptation of the acclaimed science fiction novel by Michael Moorcock. As the world teeters on the brink of collapse following a nuclear war, Jerry discovers that a batch of microfilm containing "the Read More

Glastonbury Fayre Festival

Crew: Producer

Actors: Terry Reid, David Lindley, Fairport Convention, Family, Melanie

Synopsis: Filmed at one of the many rock festivals that sprang up in the wake of Woodstock, this documentary covers one of the lesser-known such events, Glastonbury Fayre, which took place in rural England in 1971. The footage is based around performances by several artists -- most, though not all, of them Read More

Melody

Crew: Producer

Actors: Camille Davies, Billy Franks, Craig Marriott, Kay Skinner, William Vanderpuye, Peter Walton, Tim Wylton, Jack Wild, Mark Lester, Tracy Hyde, Sheila Steafel, Roy Kinnear

Synopsis: An excellent musical score by the Bee Gees adds appeal to this curious little movie about two ten-year olds, Daniel and Melody (Mark Lester and Tracy Hyde) who are completely taken with each other and announce to their parents, in all seriousness, that they plan to get married. This marriage is Read More